Who Needs An Honest Broker in the Middle East Anyway? (Daled Amos)

What the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs most is an “honest broker.”

At least that what Federica Mogherini says. When Trump announced the US was going to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, she claimed that he had forfeited a degree of leadership in leading the negotiation of peace:

Bismarck claimed he could be an honest broker, be impartial, because his main interest was not the dispute itself, but rather to see the two sides settle their dispute amicably. In addition, Germany was allied with both Russia and Austria and wanted to maintain the diplomatic relations with both countries.

Bismarck was neither indifferent nor disinterested — but he did claim he could be impartial.

Otto von Bismarck. From German Federal Archive. Public Domain

Compare that with Trump and his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital — not exactly an impartial move on his part. For that matter, neither is his decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem (though it is the next logical step), cut back on the funds the US provides to UNRWA or the rumored possibility that Trump will refuse to recognize UNRWA’s extension of the definition of “Palestinian refugee” to future generations.

Trump is not acting as an honest broker, nor is his claiming to be. But that was not always the case.

During the presidential campaign, Trump made a point of claiming to be neutral and said that he would not take sides during any peace negotiations.

“The position you’ve taken is an anti-Israel position,” Rubio said. “And here’s why. Because you cannot be an honest broker in a dispute between two sides in which one of the sides is constantly acting in bad faith.” Rubio said the Palestinian Authority has “walked away from multiple efforts to make peace” and cited Palestinian terrorist activity.

Once elected, Trump seemed to be taking a neutral approach. According to the Times of Israel, while visiting the Middle East last year in March, “Greenblatt worked exceedingly hard to be perceived by the players he met in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan as an honest broker.” [emphasis added]

While some may have questioned Trump’s ability to remain neutral, based on some of his associations – especially his Jewish son-in-law, Trump did not take any flagrant action that could be construed as favoring Israel. And then came the announcement.

But just as Rubio claimed that being neutral was the equivalent of being anti-Israel, it could be that being openly pro-Israel could be the only way to be that “honest broker” for peace. At least that was the stand Pence had taken back in 2014.

Those who say that Trump’s decision removes the United States as an honest broker in the Middle East peace process and who see the removal of this “honest broker” tag from the Americans as something that is a negative, should consider what Pence said three years ago in Jerusalem.

At a town hall event put together by Republicans Abroad Israel, Pence – then the governor of Indiana and a possible 2016 presidential candidate – said that America should not aspire to be an “honest broker” in the Middle East, but rather communicate to the world that while it wants an honest and fair solution to the conflict, “we are on the side of Israel.”

Pence said the US can “deal honestly with people on all sides of the equation,” while making clear what “side of the table” it is on.

Trump

Being an honest broker may not be all it is cracked up to be.

Take the EU for example – they have not been neutral on the issue of Jerusalem at all.

The overall objective of the EU’s East Jerusalem Programme is based on the European Council Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process to maintain the viability of the two-state solution with Jerusalem as the future capital of two states. The specific objective of the Programme is to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian East Jerusalem residents and to preserve the Palestinian character of the city. The East Jerusalem Programme is a multi-sectoral investment that has grown to approximately 10 million Euros annually

If Trump was “discredited a bit” as an honest broker by his Jerusalem announcement, one can ask whether the European Union was ever an honest broker — a question all the more relevant with the EU claiming a right to be part of the search of a peaceful solution.

A European Union report leaked to The Guardian newspaper expressed ire over Israeli tourism in and around Jerusalem’s Old City, calling the ongoing development of Jewish infrastructure a form of “touristic settlement.”

The EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem issued a report warning that the development of Jewish tourism in the ancient City of David, currently located within a heavily populated Palestinian neighborhood, and a planned cable car that would transport tourists from the Western sections of the city to the Western Wall plaza within the Old City, were “a political tool to modify the historical narrative and to support, legitimize, and expand settlements.” The report asserts that the projects promote the “historic continuity of the Jewish presence in the area at the expense of other religions and cultures.”

Making Jerusalem safe and open for Muslims and Christians as well as Jews is apparently not enough. Defending Jewish ties to Jerusalem, and the Old City, at a time when UNESCO is playing havoc with Jewish history, goes against EU principles.

As in the past, this EU report was leaked to the media where its conclusions were covered extensively in Israel and internationally. Yet, despite the leak, the report is still considered an internal document. Thus, the content of the report can affect policy makers and public opinion, but it remains shielded from public scrutiny and bypasses recognized diplomatic norms.

Clearly, EU is no honest broker — so what is it whining about?Is EU jealous of Trump doing what they do?

Or is it because Trump appears to be in the process of dismantling, to some degree, the accepted framework for dealing with the issue of the Palestinian Arabs, and in the process reminding people of just how ineffective the status quo has been.

Trump has shed the role of being an honest broker, but at least he is clear about what he is doing and why, as opposed to the EU’s machinations.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Be the first to comment

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2016/07/very-incomplete-list-of-children-used.html Gideon Levy is outraged at Israelis: One hundred and eighty babies and children up to the age of 5. One hundred and eighty helpless babies and toddlers that the Israel Defense Forces killed in [...]

http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2016/07/half-baked-humble-pie.htmlBy Daphne Anson On 3 June this year the Australian Jewish News (AJN) carried an article by long-standing staff member Peter Kohn concerning cancellation of Its 3 June 2016 issue reported that one of […]

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2016/07/proven-liar-gary-spedding-resurfaces.html A couple of years ago I blogged a long Twitter conversation between myself and a “peace activist” named Gary Spedding, as well as exchanges between him and Gilead Ini of CAMERA. The text proves […]

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2016/07/israeli-entrepreneurs-increase-export.html Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory. Check out their Facebook page. Hertzliya, July 26 – Israeli manufacturers of devices meant to restrict the vision of the wearer have noticed a marked uptick in […]

MOST READ

https://jewsdownunder.wordpress.com/2014/05/03/news-views-from-arlene-in-israel-bye-bye-negotiations/Written and submitted by Arlene Kushner. Shabbat starts late at this season, which allows me the time to do a post – but even so, Shabbat is Shabbat and this will be brief. The nine-month […]

https://jewsdownunder.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/jews-down-under-is-migrating-to-a-web-site/Jews Down Under is migrating to a web site in the next day or two. Tuesday by the look of things. http://jewsdownunder.com/ This has been an amazing journey in the past 7/8 months and I […]

https://jewsdownunder.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/a-melbourne-terrorist-themed-play-praised-by-fairfax-media/A play, Wael Zuaiter: Unknown, currently showing in Melbourne, which romanticises a terrorist, was reviewed in the Fairfax media. … this innovative and brilliantly constructed piece of documentary theatre achieves a haunting power through […]

http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-islamist-enemy-within-christians.htmlBy Daphne Anson On learning that 86-year-old Father Jacques Hamel had murdered in his own church in a village near Rouen by Islamist demons who stormed in during Mass and slit his throat, the [...]